Bassnectar

Bassnectar (Lorin Ashton) is a California-based electronic music producer and DJ. Drawing influences from rock, metal, to ambient genres, Bassnectar has cultivated his own very unique, often experimental sound. In addition to his impressive live shows and genuine connection to his fans, another very interesting aspect of Bassnectar is his studio and live setup. In the studio, he is an advocate of simplicity - he urges producers to learn a few tools, collect a few samples, and get to know them *very* well. Lorin's live setup is defined by his use of custom controllers triggering sounds in Ableton. Read on to discover Bassnectar's favorite software synths, plugins, and live equipment.

Bassnectar used to use two M-Audio Trigger Finger Controllers in his live sho... more

Bassnectar used to use two M-Audio Trigger Finger Controllers in his live show, but has since switched to using custom controllers built by 60 Works. 37 seconds into this video, one can spot the Trigger Finger in front of Bassnectar himself.

Bassnectar uses a CDJ in his live show purely for backup purposes. In an Inst... more

Bassnectar uses a CDJ in his live show purely for backup purposes. In an Instagram post he explains, "the CDJ is for ultimate bombproof triple degree backup. Like at Summer Camp years ago when I jumped around so hard my table collapsed. CDJ saved the day. I had 'Seek&Destroy' cued up on it @ Ultra ;)"

Studio Monitors 1

Bassnectar relies on the Mackie HR824s to give him an accurate representation... more

Bassnectar relies on the Mackie HR824s to give him an accurate representation of his tracks: "I mix on Mackie HR824s, first mixing the kick and snares, focusing around 110 to 120Hz and making them as loud as I can stand, then working with the hat, keeping it bright, then putting in the sub before I mix everything else up as quiet as I can keep them. Then I offer it to the mastering engineer with a kind of limited sound mix: kick, sub, snare, and the rest of the track."

DAWs 3

Bassnectar is attracted to the simplicity of Ableton Live, both for producing... more

Bassnectar is attracted to the simplicity of Ableton Live, both for producing and live use. "I’ve got so many of my songs and albums into Ableton that I’m able to remix and sample myself a lot, which is a massive time saver."

Before making the switch to Ableton Live for producing, Bassnectar was ReWiri... more

Before making the switch to Ableton Live for producing, Bassnectar was ReWiring Reason into Cubase. He says, "...that was really the breaking point for me, being able to have everything in one piece of software. That’s where I first simplified and felt a lot of liberation by confining myself to that one program. My friends using Logic would always tease me that my stuff was too low-fi, but I just had fun doing it. I loved hitting the tab button all day, looking at the wires shake; it was just inspiring to me, being able to make things quickly manifest."

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